Wednesday, April 18, 2007

I promise...I'm still living...

My seasonal depression is hit a lot harder than usual this year. As I don't want to inflict my pain on others, I've been leaving the blog blank. The stitching has been suffering too, so no pictures of those to share.

I have been reading in place of stitching and have actually run across a couple of books that I can't believe I haven't read before (believe me, I'm VERY shocked).

The first is "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. (See Amazon for the editorial review. I'd just repeat the same thing here.) Now the reason I probably didn't read earlier is because I had to read "The Fountainhead" in High School, and as a general rule in HS, if I was forced to read it as part of the curriculum, I automatically hated it. No reason, other than I was a stubborn-headed smart-ass; and we won't even get into my answers to the symbolism of "The Great Gatsby". Let's just say the the most heard comment from my teachers was "Lisa, your smart. If you'd just apply that knowledge for good..."Yes, I was the one who ended a research paper with the sentences, "This whole paper as plagiarized from "XXX" because you gave me a failing grade on the paper where I voiced my own opinion and cited works you had never heard or read before. I'm interested in seeing what grade I get for this piece of tripe." I would like to note here that I DO NOT condone plagiarism and have never done so again. I was just being an ass at the time; which is still not a good reason.Side note #2: Is it plagiarism when you have the permission of the original creator of a research paper to copy it for this purpose? Either way, it was cheatign and I should have gotten a ZERO on it.I got a "B". I don't know if its because the teacher liked it, or because she didn't want me in her class again. She obviously did NOT read the whole thing.

Back to Ayn Rand. As I like "Atlas Shrugged", I am older and in a different frame of mind and can appreciate the struggles of those in the novel, I'm thinking I may need to revisit "Fountainhead". For those who like reading and have not read either of these, if size of the novel is a deciding factor, start with "The Fountainhead" and it's 720 pages, compared to the 1200 pages that is "Atlas Shrugged".Quite honestly, I picked up "Atlas" for the shear size. I have a tendency to browse libraries and bookstores and pick up the biggest book I can find to read, without know anything about the author. I've only been burned a couple if times.Why do I go for the bigun's? I read quickly. For example, I read "Little Women" in 3 days. When I was 11.

The other book I've read recently in "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert A. Heinlein (Amazon link). Another on my "I'm shocked I haven't read this before" list. My husband had bought solely that it was Heinlein and he liked "Starship Troopers". (so did I, but that's another story) After reading "Stranger...", I find I'm going to have to read it again. I found myself more amused by his grandstanding on religion, than paying attention to the story. Not to say I don't know the story; I just need to reread to catch the nuances.

On the movie front, i got to see "Peaceful Warrior" and loved it. It's based on Dan Millman's book "Way of the Peaceful Warrior". Now a swear I've read the book before, but it's not on our shelves, so I have 1) not read it or 2) borrowed it from someone else. I'm thinking it's #2. I'll know for sure once I get a hold of copy and read it (again?). Even if you've never read the book, the movie was very good. Very inspiring. I'm not sure if it has released nationally yet (hubby had gotten free tickets and we had to drive to another town to see it...4 towns over), but check it out at http://www.thepeacefulwarriormovie.com/ . I would have paid full price to see it. Probably still will if I can find it in a theater again, definitely something my daughter needs to see.

If anyone would like to discuss/debate the above books or any other's I have read (I'll start posting them as i read them), or heck even recommend books, feel free to start something in the comments.

LOL, Lisa your comments about your plagerized paper brought something to my head. I took a Literature class a few semesters ago and on the first day of class the instructor told us he used the shelf method for grading papers. Meaning that he had shelves above his desk labeled "A", "B", "C" etc. His method was to lean back in his chair and throw papers at the shelves. Whatever shelf the paper landed on was the grade it got. (Of course, he was kidding) Perhaps your teacher used the "shelf method" for grading your paper. LOL!